First Grade Week 35 in Review

Well, my plans of staying on track are now out the window.  Granted, we’re only a week behind, but still…I was doing so good.  However, when you add illness upon illness, it’s kind of hard to keep it together.  Everyone in the family has been suffering with some kind of illness (bronchitis, teething, common cold, viral infection, etc)…so, we’ve had to take some time to focus on getting well.  With that said, school got put aside.  Oh well, we’ll catch up here shortly.  This is how the 35th week panned out for us.
Heritage Studies:  We discussed how people need clothes and love, and then we spent some time discussing wants vs. needs.
Science:  We started a new chapter on plants this week.  We discussed parts for making new plants, flowers, fruits, seeds, and parts for eating.  We’re still debating on whether or not we’re planting a big garden, but if we do all of this information will be put to use. 
Math:  Caleb spent some time working on adding large #s (3 digit #s).  He really loves his math, so he continues to do well.
Bible:  We spent some time reviewing First Catechism questions 59-62.  Our Bible story was on “The Holy Spirit Gives New Life.”
Vocabulary:  We added “whole, astronaut, dim, scale, and tilt” to our list of vocabulary terms.
Phonics & English:  We discussed rhyming words, homonyms, analogies, punctuation, capitalization, and  alphabetical order.
Extra Stuff:  I mentioned a  few posts back that we were getting ready to start our spring homeschool co-op semester.  Caleb is taking four classes:  Extreme Weather, Pioneers & Indians, Inside My Body, and Poetry in Motion.  I’m assisting in two classes (Storybook Chef and Puppetry), and I’m teaching two classes (Basic Math Skills and Poetry in Motion).  Caleb is having a blast, and we are so happy that more of his friends are participating in the co-op this session.  The co-op has really grown since the fall, and it’s wonderful to see so many homeschoolers having fun and learning.  Micah is staying in the nursery, and well, he likes it once he gets over the fact that I’ve abandoned him.  LOL!  I think we need to get him away from me more often because he’s becoming quite attached.  Here are two crafts that Caleb made last week:

This is a concertina fold butterfly that he made in the class that I teach (Poetry in Motion).  We basically read a poem each week, and then we use that poem to learn English skills (capitalization, punctuation, parts of speech, etc).This is a rain stick he made in Extreme Weather.  I heard that he and some friends were using them as “weapons”, so he had to have his taped up again.  Boys, boys, boys…LOL!

I’m in the process of trying to figure out curriculum and schedules for 2nd grade.  Since we school year-round, I have to get everything ready before June.  So, I have to make my decision, get it all ordered, and start planning.  We’re making a few curriculum changes next year, and I’ll post more at a later date on those details.  In the meantime, I’d love to hear YOUR favorite curriculum find from all of you homeschooling mommies out there.  So, share away!  It can also be an Internet link if that’s your favorite find.  I look forward to hearing from all of you.